Marlboro Curtain Call

This signed print shows an historic moment in the Casey Stoner Ducati era. After decades of tobacco sponsorship being a mainstay of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, only Qatar saw the Marlboro livery in use on a race weekend in 2009. This race was the final appearance of the Marlboro logo in MotoGP, creating a uniquely retro/modern look to the factory Ducati bikes on this opening weekend.

Stoner took Pole Position (1:55.286), set Fastest Lap (1:55.844), and won the race by nearly eight seconds over Valentino Rossi (2nd) and a rookie named Jorge Lorenzo (3rd).

This was also the only MotoGP race to be run on a Monday, as one of the extremely race Qatari spring rains hit Losail just after the MotoGP sighting lap. Due to concerns over reflections of the track lighting on wet tarmac, the race was rescheduled for the following evening (which sent most of us back to the Media Center to call our airlines to see about rescheduling flights out of Doha!).

Stoner owned the race, putting the Marlboro livery on the top step of the podium for its final GP appearance. For the end of an era of open tobacco sponsorship, the red brand went out on top.